Why does this matter?
Climate finance is first and foremost an issue of justice. We can all agree that those countries who have long wreaked – and profited from – climate chaos have a responsibility to #PayUp, and support countries enduring the worst of the climate crisis despite having the least responsibility for causing it.
And it is also true that many countries in the Global South require substantial finance to facilitate their own domestic transitions, without worsening debt burdens. An ambitious, needs-based and justice-driven New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) isn’t a distraction from fossil fuels; it’s a necessary foundation for a full fossil fuel phase out.
So, the litmus test for COP29 was how much public finance high-income countries agreed to provide annually to the Global South. Civil society, low-income countries and independent experts all cited USD $1 trillion as a conservative figure. Yes, that’s a big number. But transitioning the entire world away from fossil fuels, funding adaptation and compensating for loss and damage is a big job.
The number countries landed on, though, was a fair bit smaller. After draft texts that sparked outrage, the COP ended with the agreement of a climate finance goal of USD $300 billion per annum, to be reached by 2035. There are issues with the structure of this goal: it doesn’t address loss and damage; doesn’t set out sub-goals; and there are no real definitions around what does or doesn’t constitute climate finance.
Despite the gavelling, the objections are still coming thick and fast. A number of countries have voiced their dismay in the plenary hall, and you can read quick takes from our global colleagues here.
There was no announcement on COP31 hosting, with Türkiye remaining keen to host. The decision is bumped down the road.
After multiple COPs hosted by countries with weak civil society, one thing that’s clear is it’s time to kick polluter lobbyists out and put people at the heart of COPs. Only then will governments find the courage to make the decisions necessary to keep our friends and families safe from unnatural heat, fires and floods.’
Or as the organisers of the proposed Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty have put it:
Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty progress
Rather than wait to be disappointed again in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative worked with those attending who were willing to make a difference. They supported a growing bloc of countries seeking to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Treaty to complement the Paris Agreement, as they set the course for the next phase of securing an international negotiating mandate.
At COP29, Treaty Initiative leaders organised the Second Ministerial Meeting of the nation-states forming the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. A cross-section of Ministers and senior government officials from the endorsing nations of the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as observers from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe, gathered to discuss key priorities for the Fossil Fuel Treaty proposal in 2025, including possible legal pathways and mechanisms for financing a just transition.
Treaty Initiative organisers held press conferences to share the progress toward a Fossil Fuel Treaty. They partnered with the Global Alliance of Banking on Values to hold an event exploring how public and private finance can be transformed to phase out fossil fuels and empower Just Transition pathways. We know that the future lies in governments, banks, and civil society collaborating to finance a climate-secure and equitable world, so they launched a new paper, ‘If It’s Not Global, It’s Not Just: How A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Can Accelerate Finance For A Global Just Transition.’
Tags: Australian Climate Action Network, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
